You can get a lot done in forty-five minutes. You can watch half a movie, listen to a full-length CD, or even watch two episodes of your favourite sitcom. What you cannot do, however, is satisfy your hunger for time with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Rockstar recently invited Kikizo to its office for a peek at a working version of the game, and while the build we saw was about ten weeks old, (the newest build doesn't have a handy level skip for demo purposes, apparently) and although the hands-off time we spent with it was woefully inadequate, it was immediately obvious that this is a substantial improvement over both of its predecessors.

After showing us a lengthy and entertaining "mood set" DVD - a video montage of GTASA research material including several appearances from the most well-known rappers of the nineties, it was time to boot up the game.

Much like Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which combined the best of both emergent and scripted gameplay, GTA: SA presents you with a central storyline and as much freedom as you could possibly want. Interestingly, despite the exponential increase in gameplay options, it appears that the story might actually be considerably deeper this time around as well.

The game begins with Carl Johnson - CJ to his friends - coming back from Liberty City, where he has been holed up for some time. While his friends back home thought he fled just to get out of East Los Santos (the rough neighbourhood of his youth), the real reason behind CJ's sudden departure was that dealing with the death of his younger brother Brian was simply too much for him. Now, five years on, events have transpired that pull CJ back into a world he thought he had left behind.

After getting word that his mother has been murdered, CJ is on the first flight back to Los Santos to face-off with his mother's killers, and his own past. Things don't get off to a smooth start. A couple of crooked cops who remember CJ from his youth in Los Santos pick him up at the airport and drop him off in rival gang territory - not a good place to be when the game's less law-abiding citizens carry Uzis with the indifference we usually attach to record bags. Welcome to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

While there was little shown in the demo that we haven't reported on in our expansive coverage to date, simply seeing the game in motion - a few days before the release of the trailer last Friday - was well worth the trip. Perhaps more than ever, the world of GTA feels brimming with life and reckless energy, even at this early stage. While the full complement of street life was not present in the build we were shown, there was still enough going on onscreen to convince us that San Andreas is going to present a more organic experience than either Liberty City or Vice City.

The first new feature we were shown was the BMX bike. You control your peddling speed by tapping the X button, which gives moving around the city a more tactile feel. The bike physics look solid, and the peddling animation is superb. As you speed round a tight corner you'll put your leg out as a counterweight and then climb back onto the peddles once you straighten out. If past games are anything to go by, the bike will be useful for more than just transportation. Those of you who played both the Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions of GTA: VC will remember that there were substantial differences in motorcycle handling between the two, with bikes in the PS2 version requiring considerably more care. "These problems have been addressed," says Hamish Brown, Rockstar's PR manager. "The physics of the bike are fantastic, and they feel very pleasurable to ride."

Character customisation has received a significant overhaul from GTA: VC. While Tommy was only able to change whole outfits, in GTA: SA you'll be able to buy shoes, shirts and pants and even go for a variety of stylish hairdos. From coloured Afros to classical flattops, the hairstyles form another layer of customisation that will allow the experience of playing GTA: SA to feel much more personal. A repeating motif during our visit was the effect of your appearance on people's response to you. Whether it's your hairstyle, your weight, your physique, what tattoos you have, or what shoes you're wearing, people's respect for and opinion of you is largely based on how you look. And they'll act accordingly. For instance, if you manage to transform CJ into a, shall we say, more rotund chap, you'll waddle as you walk, and people will take cheap shots - the verbal kind - at you. There's potentially a lot to do with regards to your appearance, but, as Brown told us, "It's not The Sims. We've just taken a tiny bit of that to make you care about the character."

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